Let’s first define what is the meaning of telecommunication. From the wikipedia, telecommunication is the assisted transmission over a distance for the purpose of communication. In modern times, telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic devices such as the telephone, television, radio or computer. Telecommunication is an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry's revenue was estimated to be $1.2 trillion in 2006. One of them is the Globe Telecom. in which it has been famous this few days for some complains as what PGMA said in her SONA.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

BPO stands for Business process outsourcing. BPO is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. From the meaning itself, you can conclude that BPO enhances the flexibility of an organization.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_outsourcing

“In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress”

Automated elections is one of the things that you can say development here in Philippines. We all know that from the previous elections we used to do a manual system. And now, by implementing this kind of system it really helps in order to have an easy and fast elections.

Last edited by ♥ilyn_mapalo♥ on Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

In the recent State Of The Nation Address (SONA) of President Gloria Arroyo, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector was only briefly mentioned. However, I perceived some areas related to ICT and how these areas can improve our quality of life.

1. Country’s first automated Polls

The country has long targeted to automate its polls because the traditional manual voting process had created massive irregularities and spurred public violence.

As Filipinos, we hate knowing that we are being taken advantage of whether be it in terms elections or anything in general. We hate that we are being governed by unworthy people and people who are not deserving of the position. How then are they able to achieve such feats? We can’t be possibly sure but a rational explanation would be that we are being cheated in the elections. And thus, by applying this technology we are able to prevent this from happening. The users will benefit from it and the country as a whole because the integrity of the elections would be objectified and strengthened. The public will also be satisfied because faster results are guaranteed by the usage of automated and online elections. The government will also be benefited because lesser costs will have to be allocated for the elections in the long run. The initial costs might be high because of the need for technology and infrastructure upgrades and manpower training, but the succeeding costs in the next elections will be lower.

2. Philippine Cyber Corridor project

The Cyber Corridor is envisioned to be home to numerous cyberservice providers that supply expert services in various field of ICT like business process outsourcing (BPO), contact centers, animation, medical and legal transcription, software development, e-learning, e-entertainment and gaming, and other back office operations (e.g., finance and accounting, human resource development, etc.).

The Cyber Corridor promises a number of benefits. The first is job generation. Two million jobs are projected by year 2010 plus additional upstream jobs in training and construction, and downstream jobs in transport, food services, and infrastructure. The second is regional development -- from Baguio to Zamboanga. This will indeed change the face of the nation. The third is locator options. The important factors for consideration will be cost, lifestyle, scalability, retention. The fourth is dispersion of demand. This will minimize wage inflation and poaching/attrition.

Also, The Cyber Corridor will make the most of the Filipino’s edge in English communication and information technology skills. In this corridor, the English and information and communication technology skills of the youth give them a competitive edge in call centers and other business process outsourcing.

3. Creation of DICT

Pres. Gloria Arroyo made a final push for the creation of DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) in her last State of the Nation Address (Sona).

Speaking before members of both chambers of Congress, the chief executive urged the country to “have a Department of ICT” as she highlighted the huge role that the BPO sector has played in the local economy.

The establishment of DICT could further promote ICT in the country as a tool to create jobs, improve government services, and empower Filipinos.To have a Department of ICT will reap the benefits of an e-enabled society, where everyone would have access to the Internet, where there are equal opportunities for jobs and livelihood, where there would be a competitive business environment conducive to investments, and where online government services are delivered directly to its citizens.

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

AUTOMATED ELECTION ON 2010"The CICT has already conducted a meeting with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) regarding the automation of the 2010 elections" he said. "Hopefully, this time, the government will no longer have to contend with technical issues for this project." The government's new IT chief said his agency is currently working on a recommendation paper that will be submitted to the COMELEC. http://zdnetasia.com/

Computerized voting is a superior form of casting ballots. It allows for fairer and faster voting. It takes many forms with different processes but how it is implemented depends on the technological facilities allocated for the elections procedure. Automated election system (AES) is a system that uses appropriate technology to accomplish and aid such tasks as voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, and transmission of election result, and other electoral process. Republic Act No. 9369, which is the Amended Elections Automation Law provides for the use of two forms of AES. The first is a paper-based election system defined as “a type of automated election system that uses paper ballots, records and counts votes, tabulates, consolidates, canvasses and transmits electronically the results of the vote count.” It uses the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) Technology. Here, the voters have to shade the oval which corresponds to their candidate of choice using pencil in a specially scanned paper ballot. It is composed of 2 Laptops, 2 Digital Scanners, 2 card readers, 1 hub and 1 printer. The votes in the shaded ballots will then be scanned and counted using an Automated Counting Machine (ACM). This kind of technology is pretty much familiar in the Philippines. It is used in the National Secondary Aptitude Test (NSAT), formerly the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), given by the Department of Education (DepEd), and in the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Licensure Examinations and other examinations given by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC), wherein the answer sheet is composed of ovals and the oval corresponding to the chosen answer would be shaded by the examinee. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for its Lotto system, wherein the ovals, corresponding to the numbers being bet upon, are also shaded, employs a similar system. In all these, the answer sheets and the lotto cards are read, or counted, by the OMR. Because of its familiarity, and because it makes use of ballots which is what most Filipinos are familiar to, this system was recommended as the most suitable for the Philippine setting. The second form is the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE). It is defined as “a type of automated election system that uses electronic ballots, records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electro-optical components that can be activated by the voter, processes data by means of a computer program, records voting data and ballot images, and transmits voting results electronically.” voters are provided with a Voting Pad where the photos of candidates can be selected by pressing on the desired picture. Once the vote is final, a receipt is generated after pressing ‘BOTO‘. The Board of Election Inspectors keeps the receipt just in case there are complaints raised. However, DRE Technology can only be deployed in areas where communications is available and reliable. The first automated election was held in ARMM last August 11, 2008. There were a lot of “firsts” during this historical event: First fraud-free election in more than half a century; first time the winning candidates were proclaimed in less than two days after election day; first to use electronic voting and transmission machines in a Philippine electoral exercise; first time election results have been uncontested; first elections with practically no reports of voter disenfranchisement; and first elections where the rate of failure of elections is less than 1 percent. Voters’ turnout was greater than expected, reaching 90% of the expected voting population. On February 25, UP Diliman(UPD) held its first campus-wide computerized University Student Council (USC) elections. The open source voting system, called “Halalan”, was created by the University of the Philippines Lifinux Users Group (UnPLUG), a student organization at the College of Engineering (CoE). The colleges provided the computers for the elections. The voting process started with students presenting their IDs or Form-5s to attending poll clerks, who checked the list of valid voters. Students on the list then received their passwords from the poll clerks and proceeded to unoccupied voting stations. Using their student numbers and the passwords provided as login information, they opened their electronic ballots and marked the boxes of their chosen candidates. Once they clicked the confirm button, their votes were final and they were automatically logged out. The system allows voters to log in again but only to check their votes, not change them. The first working prototype of Halalan was created in January 2005 and presented to UPD student councils and student publications later that month at the Palma Hall Lobby. Its first application in the USC elections was at the CoE and the School of Statistics in 2007. A year later, the College of Business Administration, the College of Mass Communication, and the School of Library and Information Science also adopted the system.Http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)Searching for a more effective way to access cutting-edge technology without the huge capital outlay? Driven by an increasing cost structure in a competitive business? Then business process outsourcing may just be answers. BPO is the delegation of one or more IT-intensive business processes to an external provider that in turn owns, administers, and manages the selected process based on defined and measurable performance criteriaOnce used for cost savings in transaction-intensive, back office business processes, BPO has emerged as a flexible and powerful approach to achieve a wide range of tactical and strategic aims, among others:• Speed to market. BPO allows start-up firms to be fully operational with state-of-the-art capabilities in weeks rather than months. • Competitive capabilities. Established organizations can turn also-ran processes into world-class capabilities. • Cost savings. BPO can dramatically lower costs. • Growth stimulus. BPO can be used to achieve unique, competitive capabilities. • Revenue. Firms partner with their BPO provider enhance their knowledge in exchange for shares in the revenues. BPO, or outsourcing in general, has conventionally been seen as a way of cutting down on overhead expenses. This point of view has changed over time. Now, BPO is seen more and more as a strategic move. Outsourcing enables the company to concentrate on its core functions and delegate noncore activities to a provider that specializes in it. In the case of human resource outsourcing, HR functions such as payroll and benefits, recruitment, and personnel evaluation are passed on to an outsourcer that specializes in human resource management (HRM) and who will keep the company abreast of constant change in the field of HRM. Frank Casale, president of the Outsourcing Institute, says the real benefit of BPO is in the value it brings that doesn’t necessarily equal cost savings. “Things such as time to market and support may not necessarily show up on a balance sheet, but can be critical to a company’s success.”In the Philippines, BPO is seen as one of the drivers that would secure the country the position of being top destination of choice for ICT services. Some noncore yet critical backroom operations that have been outsourced to the Philippines include accounting, contact center services, human resource administration, claims administration, and logistics. With its excellent telecommunications infrastructure and its pool of superior talent, the Philippines is at a good position to accommodate these demands. http://outsourcing.ph/

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is looking for a 40% growth in the country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry for 2008.Speaking at the e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition, Arroyo said while the Philippines currently employ 300,000 people in the BPO and contact center industry, she wants these increased by at least 40% to meet the growing demand worldwide. She said the Philippines at present is only second to India in terms of supplying the workforce in the BPO industry, but it has already been recognized as the “premiere global destination for these types of IT enabled services”.“We are proud of what we had achieved but we are anxious to solidify our gains. We’re anxious not to be complacent in the face of rapid change,” Arroyo said. “For 2008, we have targeted to grow our O & O (offshore and outsourcing) workforce by 40% in order to cope with the industry demands and also to achieve a 40% growth rate in the O & O sector.”http://bpo.box.com/

“BPO generally will help promote the outsourcing here in the Philippines and help the IT sector to be more enhanced and more functional with the help of the government this will be made possible.”

CYBER CORRIDORThe Cyber Corridor is envisioned to be home to numerous cyber service providers that supply expert services in various field of ICT like business process outsourcing (BPO), contact centers, animation, medical and legal transcription, software development, e-learning, e-entertainment and gaming, and other back office operations (e.g., finance and accounting, human resource development, etc.).

The Cyber Corridor was highlighted in the State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs) of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (years 2006 and 2007) as the fifth "super-region" of the Philippines (aside from the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway, Central Philippines, and Mindanao) with the firm resolve of "spreading the development away from the inequitable concentration in Metro Manila. The Cyber Corridor encompasses centers of technology and learning running the length of all "super regions", from Baguio to Clark to Metro Manila to Cebu to Davao and neighboring areas. The Philippines ranks among top off-shoring hubs in the world because of cost competitiveness and more importantly, our highly trainable, English-proficient, IT-enabled management and manpower.

The Cyber Corridor promises a number of benefits. The first is job generation. Two million jobs are projected by year 2010 plus additional upstream jobs in training and construction, and downstream jobs in transport, food services, and infrastructure. The second is regional development -- from Baguio to Zamboanga. This will indeed change the face of the nation. The third is locator options. The important factors for consideration will be cost, lifestyle, scalability, retention. The fourth is dispersion of demand. This will minimize wage inflation and poaching/attrition.

The Philippines is competitive in the ICT global space because of the following strengths: (1) reliable infrastructure support in terms of real estate, power, and telecoms; (2) quality human resources with an abundant labor force of 32 million; (3) investment incentives; (4) strong partnerships and linkages with national and local government agencies, industry leaders and associations, and academe; (5) strong private sector initiatives.

CICT proposes the following steps to becoming an ICT hub and part of the Cyber Corridor: (1) DTI-ROG pinpoints viable locations within the Cyber Corridor; (2) DTI-ROG gathers concerned stakeholders for the exercise (e.g., LGUs, academe, representatives from telecommunications, power, real estate, PNP, among others) to gather data and build an ICT ecosystem profile for the location; (3) CICT and DTI-ROG conduct scorecard exercise which is basically a self-assessment of the capabilities of the location and find out its readiness to host an investor/locator; along side, a SWOT analysis is also conducted to determine the strengths & weaknesses of the location; (4) CICT then conducts an ICT strategic planning workshop to map out what needs to be done to address crucial locator requirements; (5) CICT monitors the progress of the location in carrying out strategies to increase its competitiveness; (6) when the location has addressed the issues/challenges identified, then CICT declares the location ready and endorses it to BPAP vendors as a viable location for investment.http://convergentperspectives.blogspot.com/

“From the benefit described above the articles about the cyber corridor well it is a good way of promoting another area that will surely help our country improve the way we live. Through technology more jobs for the Filipinos and more developments for the country”

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

ICT is an abbreviation for Information and Communications Technology.

Based on the full text transcript of the State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the year 2009 that I’ve read from this website, here are the three areas that the President mentioned that I think is related with the field of ICT.

In this part of the president’s speech, the positive impact for the people is quite obvious. By amending the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law, millions of consumers of telecom companies will benefit by being protected from anomalies concerning the disappearance of cellphone loads. Since cellphones play an important role in the lifestyle of most Filipinos nowadays it is safe to say that cellphone load is now being included as part of the budget of expenses for most Filipinos …and saving money from being stolen is always a good idea especially on time of crisis.

“..Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT….”

This is the part where the president talks about the BPO (Business P Outsourcing) sector and its contribution to our country by providing jobs for Filipinos thus increasing our competitiveness and productivity. I think that this part implies a better future for Filipinos by providing more jobs. The president also mentioned creating a department solely for ICT. This idea may improve our way of life because through the creation of a specialized department solely for ICT, there will be centralization of ways in addressing ICT issues in our country.

“..In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress….”

The full automation of the 2010 election is probably one of the major development in our country that is related to information technology that if materialized will put to end to the obsolete and laborious manual election. This development will improve our quality of life in a way by making the election much easier to conduct compared to the manual election system.

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is an umbrella term that covers all advanced technologies in manipulating and communicating information. The term is sometimes used in preference to information technology (IT), particularly on these two communities: education and government. The common usage ICT is synonymous assumed the fact that IT or ICT encompasses all mediums, to record information (magnetic disk/tape, optical disks (CD/DVD), flash memory etc. and arguably also paper records); technology for broadcasting information - radio, television; and technology for communicating through voice and sound or images - microphone, camera, loudspeaker, telephone to cellular phones. It includes the wide varieties of computing hardware (PCs, servers, mainframes, networked storage). It has rapidly developed a personal hardware market that comprises mobile phones, personal devices, (MP3, MP4, MP5 and MP6) players, laptops, palmtops etc. The full gamut of application software, spans from the smallest home-developed spreadsheet to the largest enterprise packages and online software services; similarly the hardware and software needed to operate networks for transmission of information, again ranging from a home network to the largest global private networks operated by major commercial enterprises and, of course, the Internet. "ICT" makes more explicit technologies such as broadcasting and wireless mobile telecommunications. It should be noted that "ICT" with this English definition is different in nuance and scope compare to the "ICT" in Japanese term, which is more technical and narrow in scope. ICT capabilities vary widely from the sophistication of major western economies to lesser provision in the developing world. But the latter are catching up fast, often leapfrogging older generations of technology and developing new solutions that match their specific needs. The expression "information and communication technologies" cannot only be referred to contemporary automated technological artifacts, but also to paper-based writing, being itself a technology (Ong, 1988: Chapter 4), ontologically, it can also be included as pre-digital means of generating information (or communication). ICT may not survive in its present form for long. Sooner than later, developing countries would get over the PC mania prevalent now, unless there is a remarkable change in the economy of having a desktop PC. Any technology that requires the masses to own a PC, in its present form, to access information is unlikely to be successful in the foreseeable future. Possibilities appear to exist, however, in the mobile phone technology, which is fast becoming very affordable by the masses, is voice based and can be integrated with the Information Technology at the server end of a computer network. For example, in the field of education [1] People can ask questions through a mobile phone, a database of answers to such questions can be generated using these technologies. Currently what is in Wikipedia and call centers and the text in these databases could be converted into voice, by developing text to voice technologies in the various languages. The person seeking information can be informed when answers are available and better answers sought based on his/her feedback. The emerging 3G and 4G mobile phone technologies can indeed facilitate such developments. An alternative technology could be to integrate the mobile phone with the television screen, so that visual information can be viewed easily. Similarly, there is the possibility for developing interactive radio, on the lines of interactive TV.

Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT” said by the president of the Philippines.

Many Filipino’s suffer from the different Telecommunication networks which everybody is experiencing which is the load loss. In the statement above the president tackles about the serious problem which her people experiencing. The common situation in Telecommunication networks I think all of us had experience which there were alerts send to your cell phone number with a tag free alerts but you would notice if you check your load balance you had been deducted I guessed P2.50 for that alert. This clearly shows an unfair and unreliable service from the network. Also there were times that Telecommunication network That is why the president and her constituents implemented the Commonwealth –era Public Service Law to amend this problem. It really help the quality of every Filipino lives to be productive in using there loads. This is such a big help for us to meet with our needs and rights from the Telecommunication Service which we are part of. We had the right to have a good quality service that the network is providing.

“In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

The automated election was one of the controversial moves by the government because a lot of people keep on saying that automated election is unreliable and many arguments were raised for that matter. But of course the course the congress won to implement this automated election. From using automated election it will help us to vote and assure us the quality, fast and reliable election which everybody is asking for.

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is an umbrella term that covers all advanced technologies in manipulating and communicating information. The term is sometimes used in preference to information technology (IT), particularly on these two communities: education and government. The common usage ICT is synonymous assumed the fact that IT or ICT encompasses all mediums, to record information (magnetic disk/tape, optical disks (CD/DVD), flash memory etc. and arguably also paper records); technology for broadcasting information - radio, television; and technology for communicating through voice and sound or images - microphone, camera, loudspeaker, telephone to cellular phones. It includes the wide varieties of computing hardware (PCs, servers, mainframes, networked storage). It has rapidly developed a personal hardware market that comprises mobile phones, personal devices, (MP3, MP4, MP5 and MP6) players, laptops, palmtops etc. The full gamut of application software, spans from the smallest home-developed spreadsheet to the largest enterprise packages and online software services; similarly the hardware and software needed to operate networks for transmission of information, again ranging from a home network to the largest global private networks operated by major commercial enterprises and, of course, the Internet. "ICT" makes more explicit technologies such as broadcasting and wireless mobile telecommunications. It should be noted that "ICT" with this English definition is different in nuance and scope compare to the "ICT" in Japanese term, which is more technical and narrow in scope. ICT capabilities vary widely from the sophistication of major western economies to lesser provision in the developing world. But the latter are catching up fast, often leapfrogging older generations of technology and developing new solutions that match their specific needs. The expression "information and communication technologies" cannot only be referred to contemporary automated technological artifacts, but also to paper-based writing, being itself a technology (Ong, 1988: Chapter 4), ontologically, it can also be included as pre-digital means of generating information (or communication). ICT may not survive in its present form for long. Sooner than later, developing countries would get over the PC mania prevalent now, unless there is a remarkable change in the economy of having a desktop PC. Any technology that requires the masses to own a PC, in its present form, to access information is unlikely to be successful in the foreseeable future. Possibilities appear to exist, however, in the mobile phone technology, which is fast becoming very affordable by the masses, is voice based and can be integrated with the Information Technology at the server end of a computer network. For example, in the field of education [1] People can ask questions through a mobile phone, a database of answers to such questions can be generated using these technologies. Currently what is in Wikipedia and call centers and the text in these databases could be converted into voice, by developing text to voice technologies in the various languages. The person seeking information can be informed when answers are available and better answers sought based on his/her feedback. The emerging 3G and 4G mobile phone technologies can indeed facilitate such developments. An alternative technology could be to integrate the mobile phone with the television screen, so that visual information can be viewed easily. Similarly, there is the possibility for developing interactive radio, on the lines of interactive TV.

Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT” said by the president of the Philippines.

Many Filipino’s suffer from the different Telecommunication networks which everybody is experiencing which is the load loss. In the statement above the president tackles about the serious problem which her people experiencing. The common situation in Telecommunication networks I think all of us had experience which there were alerts send to your cell phone number with a tag free alerts but you would notice if you check your load balance you had been deducted I guessed P2.50 for that alert. This clearly shows an unfair and unreliable service from the network. Also there were times that Telecommunication network That is why the president and her constituents implemented the Commonwealth –era Public Service Law to amend this problem. It really help the quality of every Filipino lives to be productive in using there loads. This is such a big help for us to meet with our needs and rights from the Telecommunication Service which we are part of. We had the right to have a good quality service that the network is providing.

“In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

The automated election was one of the controversial moves by the government because a lot of people keep on saying that automated election is unreliable and many arguments were raised for that matter. But of course the course the congress won to implement this automated election. From using automated election it will help us to vote and assure us the quality, fast and reliable election which everybody is asking for.

The Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) hopes that the bill that seeks to establish the Department of ICT will be approved before the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ends next year. The CICT was created in 2004 as a transitory measure to a DICT (Department of ICT) but five years have passed, and this has yet to become a reality. (By Ehda M. Dagoo)

As a country who aims to lead globally, there should be a portal to have this goal. As the new technology continues to invade the global arena, the Philippines have to cope up the fast changing and fast growing modernization. Thus, the realization of having an ICT Department who will take part of the IT innovation is a big, big plus.

How will the creation of an ICT Department improved our quality of life? Well for me, it will really help in terms of technological way of living. We should bear in mind that though we could say that the Philippines are among the leading country in Asia in terms of ICT, still, there are less fortunate that could not afford even to go to the Net café’s to be able to give a try on using techno gadgets. While if the passage of this bill will be granted, there would be allotted budget for the ICT. For the education, it could help in computer literacy for high school students or even elementary pupils who will benefit this program. And for computer laboratories and internet connections in various schools, colleges and universities supported by the government. Also, the CICT plans to give priority to the next wave cities in the country, thus, giving hopes to the nation to improve the people’s quality of life in the eWorld.

Telecommunications

I guess this area limit its talk in the controversial expiration of loads, dropped calls and missing loads. And also, the electronic issues. And this area relates ICT because as obvious as it is, Philippines is a texting capital. Even the young ones had their cellphones, ipods, and etc. This area had its pros and cons in improving our quality of life. We knew that having this modern way of communications made our routine easier, faster and accurate. Unlike before, information will be scattered in a split of seconds or just a click away. That’s how nice to consider the improvement of Telecommunications. But also, it gives a disadvantage. In the first place, it adds our usual expenses. And the load issues are additional expenses and were disgraceful because it was stolen from you (consumers). Thus, it’s up for the individual to balance their way to carry these changes.

Technical Education and Skills Training

This area is also important in improving our quality of life. For me, given this chance to benefit technical education and skills training could be a plus in improving the many lives of individuals especially those who can’t afford or do not like to enroll degree courses. As we are covered with new innovations and as the technology advancement continue to rise, a skill is very important to compete. Thus, skills training especially related to IT will help an individual to compete in the industry.

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Last edited by sharlyn joy pines on Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:01 am; edited 5 times in total

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

Every year, the President of the Republic of the Philippines gives Congress and the people an update about the national situation through the SONA or the State of the Nation Address. This SONA has been practiced by all the Philippine presidents since 1936. State of the Nation Address was originally mandated by Article VII, Section 5 of the 1935 Philippine Constitution, which states: “The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” This provision was copied from the United States Constitution, the Philippines being under American rule at the time. The US provision, however, talked of the state of the union. SONA continues to this day. The 1987 Philippine Constitution requires the President to address the Congress at the opening of its regular session on the fourth Monday of July (Article VII, Section 23 and Article VI, Section 15), which is July 27 for this year, 2009.Pres. Gloria Arroyo on July 27made a final push for the creation of DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) in her last State of the Nation Address (Sona). Speaking before members of both chambers of Congress, the chief executive urged the country to “have a Department of ICT” as she highlighted the huge role that the BPO sector has played in the local economy.A proposed law calling for the creation of DICT has been pending in Congress for the last five years. This even if Malacanang has certified the bill as urgent.Arroyo made the endorsement as she noted in her Sona that the Philippines is now starting to create wealth with the development of the BPO industry as an engine of growth.“Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity,” she said.The president’s call for the creation of DICT, however, was less urgent compared to the appeal she made to revise consumer laws as she underscored her directive to the National Telecommunications Commission to act on complaints against dropped calls and lost cellphone load.“We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now,” Arroyo declared.In an earlier interview, CICT (Commission of Information and Communications Technology) chair Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua said there’s time left and that the government is still hoping that Congress would pass the DICT bill.“Unlike a full-fledged department, the problem with CICT just being a commission is that it can be easily demolished by the next administration. All that is needed by the next president is to sign another EO. That would be the end of the programs we’ve put up over the years,” he said.These are the articles I found relate to the topic.http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/213088/gma-sona-bats-dept-ictThe three areas related to ICT that can improve our quality of life are BPO or Business Process Outsourcing industry as an engine of growth and innovations for us IT professionals. Through outsourcing we can broaden are knowledge and we can follow the trends of our technology. Through this, it is easy for us to engage to different profitable activities that could help to the improvement of our lives. Additional engines of growth-when we say additional engines fir growth, this would help every individual to improve they way of leaving. For example additional recruitment or hiring for any job. Philippine Transport Security Authority Law- I think it would be good to have this kind of law so that we can secure to our selves the existence of martial law and to have a fair treatment to all kinds of people. In this way we can improve our way of leaving, were there is fair and non abusive treatment to humans.

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The ninth and the last STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for 2009 was delivered at the joint session of the Congress of the Philippines on July 27, 2009.

“Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work.”, the president.

Why not? Anyway I am to stand as a student and a citizen that would support my leader as long as she thinks for the betterment of her fellowmen. Well, now that I am to identify at least 3 areas related to ICT in the delivered SONA and how these areas can improve our quality of life, leave all those politics issues hanging!

This is my outlook:

ICT Department

“Let us have a Department of ICT.” She proclaimed.

Some are criticizing about it for they think of the additional budget allotment but, in her 9th State of the Nation Address, Mrs. Arroyo cited the role of the BPO and tourism sectors as engines of growth in the country. BPO Business process outsourcing or BPO is an emerging industry in the Philippines. The most common BPO services here in the country are call centers.

It is noted that while electronics and other export products rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy, the BPO sector has remained flexible and continues to grow.

Apparently, it provides millions of earnings and employment as well. If fortunately, honoring the implementation of the said department would lead to more opportunities for the Filipinos.

The government has always seen a need for focused leadership in the implementation of ICT policy in the country. In the year 2000, President Joseph Estrada formed the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council, which merged the powers and functions of the National Information Technology Council and the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council. Four years later, President Gloria Arroyo would abolish ITECC and create the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), which is headed by Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III now.

Under Executive Order 269, which created CICT, the Commission would not just be advisory in nature but will have a more active role in implementing the various ICT-related plans and policies of government. The Commission also handles government initiatives to development more IT proficient workers in the country, improvement of government IT services and bringing more Filipinos closer to technology. (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/technology/07/27/09/arroyo-oks-creation-ict-department)

In fact, Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, expressed his support for a bill seeking to establish the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

This would be gladly appreciated sooner especially we are looking for an automated election in the near next year that will probably a concern of this department.Infrastructure

On her claimed that The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.

We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports, built seaports and the roll on/roll off transport system.

Flying is an inherently stressful experience especially for those tourists that are opt to unwind here in the country. Thus, we are to serve them with good amenities for them to go back and award money on the other way.

Airports are the first things that tourists see in their arrivals, so let us grant the president a credit for efforts made in infrastructure such as mention above. Tourist means money, the more they are, the more investments and job employments for us.

Education

Government scholars and the plan to increase college to five years; two pre-university and three professional years.

Additional years will definitely additional expense. But can you imagine how upset it is when we do provide more graduates but inadequate one?

Just for an instance, IT professionals are greatly in demand for there are estimated millions of jobs waits for them however only thousands were produced yet, others are not fit for there task.

The edge of monitoring the performance of the universities that produces new graduates would mean strengthening the quality education provided to innovative professionals.

Information and communication technologies are an umbrella term that covers all technical means for processing and communicating information. The term has gained popularity partially due to the convergence of information technology (IT) and telecom technology. ICT defines a broad range of technologies, including methods for communication (communication protocols, transmission techniques, communications equipment, media (communication)), as well as techniques for storing and processing information (computing, data storage, etc.)

S o N a 2009-Related ICT

TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIONThe Philippines\' National Telecommunications Commission (Filipino: Pambansang Komisyon sa Telekomunikasyon), abbreviated as NTC, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Commission on Information and Communications Technology responsible for the supervision, adjudication and control over all telecommunications services throughout the Philippines. Telecommunications service providers and equipment vendors today face significant challenges as they address the multitude of changes and competitive challenges sweeping their industry. Networks are increasing in size and complexity as demand pressures grow and as new technologies — from wireless communications and fiber optics to multimedia, computers and advanced Internet technologies converge upon the network. As the competitive environment intensifies, it becomes increasingly important for service providers and equipment vendors to be able to react to changes quickly and effectively while maintaining the highest levels of performance and reliability.

“In telecommunications, I instructed the Telecommunications Commission toact already on the complaints of dropped calls and disappearing loads incellphones. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law.And we need to do it now.”

Telecommunications Commission greatly influences people. Cell phones are becoming an integral part of today’s world. As we all know, especially in the Philippines, most Filipino people are using cellular phones and as part of our daily routine. Aside for fun, it is very much useful also in terms of communicating relatives and friends and able to reach someone in an emergency. We can’t deny the fact that there were times that we encounter problems particularly in loads that we had bought and unfortunately, sometimes it was stolen blaming it to the NTC. However they had found ways to prevent to this situation.

For any person of this century, cell phone has become a part of his life without which he feels as if he is a handicap. The cell phone is one of the new inventions that have occurred in the 21st century. Even though some people are still new to the cell phones in many places of the world, there are other places where the cell phones have become history.

People cannot leave from their home without taking the cell phones with them. For majority of the people, cell phones are the most convenient way for communication. The parents are also gifting the children with cell phones for many reasons. The major reason for these types of gifts is the concern about the safety of the children. People find some or the other reason to use the cell phone. They are used to the habit of using the cell phone so much that people even make excuses for avoiding certain occasions where the use of cell phone may be restricted. The major advantages of using cell phones are three:---the process of communication has been made faster and easier by the use of cell phones. ---The accessories or the extra devices which are provided to the users with the cell phone make their life easier. ---Last but not the least, cell phones act as safety devices also fro those who use it.

BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING

“If in the past electronics flourished, today we are creating wealth bydeveloping the business process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism sectors asadditional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports riseand fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remainsresilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPOphenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Letus have a Department of Information and Communications Technology.”

High performance businesses continually assess new opportunities to outpace market rivals. Business process outsourcing (BPO) provides such an opportunity. Today, high performance businesses are turning to BPO to help them respond to the unprecedented market conditions and make vital changes both quickly and dramatically. Accenture\'s comprehensive portfolio of business process outsourcing services provides industry-specific as well as cross-industry BPO solutions that enable our clients to achieve immediate and sustained cost savings, improve cash flow and drive topline growth—key priorities in today’s economy.

Outsourcing involves the transfer of the management and/or day-to-day execution of an entire business function to an external service provider. The client organization and the supplier enter into a contractual agreement that defines the transferred services. Under the agreement the supplier acquires the means of production in the form of a transfer of people, assets and other resources from the client. The client agrees to procure the services from the supplier for the term of the contract. Business segments typically outsourced include information technology, human resources, facilities, real estate management, and accounting. Many companies also outsource customer support and call center functions like telemarketing, CAD drafting, customer service, market research, manufacturing, designing, web development, print-to-mail, content writing, ghostwriting and engineering.

ADVANTAGES

Cost reductions---- Cost reduction is done through process improvements, reengineering and use of technologies that reduce and bring administrative and other costs under control.Concentration on core business---- With the day-to-day back office operations taken care of, the management is free to concentrate more on the core business of the company.Outside expertise---- Company is saved from the hassles of recruiting and training personnel. BPOs ensure that experts from another company provide the needed guidance and skills.Cater to changing customer demands---- It is another great advantage of out sourcing the business processes. Many BPOs provide the management with flexible and scalable services to meet the customers\' changing requirements, and to support company acquisitions, consolidations, and joint ventures.Revenue increase---- As stated above, by outsourcing non-core processes, companies can concentrate on increasing their sales and market share, develop new products; spread out into new markets and increase customer service and satisfactions.

AUTOMATED ELECTION

“As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy -- voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress..”

Each person is aiming for the unbeaten, well-organized, straightforward and reliable 2010 elections. Through automation we can ensure a credible transition of power and orderly elections, of course, there are also advantages and disadvantages of implementing the automated system for election. It provides efficient way for voting with less hassle. Voters cannot prolong the process of voting and lined up in a crowd. But a thought came across my mind. This could be the cause to worsen political situation. Possibilities for the candidates can hire a computer expert to hack the system and manipulate the entire votes. Unless if the system is fully secured. The result, the unceasing corruption can worsen financial crisis we are experiencing today and another leading cause of poverty is corruption. If the government did not put their hands into their secret pocket, the less fortunate Filipinos will be given extra attention in terms of education to provide a better and brighter future.

I did not actually saw or heard President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address last July 27, 2009 so I downloaded the full text of the SONA in the internet. When I read the text I found some areas related to ICT. There were many parts of the President’s SONA that were somehow related to ICT. However, these were the ones that caught me: The Creation of Department of ICT, Telecommunications issues, Best Fit Educational System, Technologies to Anticipate Natural Calamities, and the Fully Automated Elections.

Creation of ICT Department

This one caught me because I have been wondering if our country has a department which focuses on the issues related to Information Technology and the like. I remember reading “Let us have a Department of ICT” in the text of the Presidents SONA, it really caught my eye and made me read the full text. Part of this area was the BPO or the Business Process Outsourcing which enables our people to acquire work here in the Philippines and in abroad. BPO is a form of outsourcing that involves contracting of operations and responsibilities to a third party service provider. We cannot deny that our country, as I may say, has been left behind in terms of technological advancements (I don’t mean to demean my own country) but it’s what I have noticed. Compared to other countries that are in the first world, we should not be contented to be in this state, we should push through advancements to be in league with the first world countries. Our people are competent but I think we cannot acquire our edge without the aid of technology. I’m glad that our country is embracing technology and that we do not limit ourselves with what we have now. I know that some people are still resilient in resisting technology and honestly I don’t see the real reason why. I can just think of one thing, some people are just afraid to embrace technology because they don’t know how it’s done and how to use it and with an ICT department we can remedy it.

Telecommunications

Under this area was the issue of the telecommunications, especially the expiry of loads and the controversial loss of load even the expiring date has not yet occurred. I think this is related to ICT because of the fact that almost all of the people in the world have a cellular phone and cell phone devices has now become a necessity which was once considered as luxury (I think) we cannot deny that electronic devices such as phones which we use to communicate with whom we want to communicate with are important and essential. If we are in the business, we need these devices to communicate with our business partners or customers. If we are just normal people we need these devices to communicate with our loved ones. Whatever we are, rich or poor, communication devices are pretty much important to us. Now the issue at hand is the loss of load, this issue greatly affects the people, especially the customers of the telecommunications network that use their services. I do not know if the ones responsible for the loss of load are the telecommunications provider, it may be because of those spam messages and promos which we do not need but I have personally experienced losing my load even when I haven’t used all of it and I know that I’m not the only one who has experienced it. I’m also glad that the government has decided to take the matter in their hands and made an appropriate action for it. Now, the expiry dates have been extended but there are still cases of load loss, but I’m still glad the government made and action.

Best Fit Educational System

“Our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs happen to be in offer today, but also for whatever economic challenge life will throw in their way” this line sure caught me because I want the people in the Philippines to be globally competitive and ready for the upcoming challenges. People should not always stick with traditions and should also consider innovations. In the past years I have heard news that our educational system is degrading and frankly I have witnessed students who are studying in schools but the amount of knowledge that they acquire is infantismal. We should have a best fit educational system for the new era of people to be properly equipped with the proper knowledge to be able to be competitive not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.

Technologies to Anticipate Natural Calamities

The Philippines is one the countries who is frequently visited by typhoons, storms and the like and these natural calamities have brought trouble in country not only in our economy but also in the lives of the Filipino people. It is good to know that our country is doing its best to acquire technologies that can help our lives and in this case, technologies that can help us anticipate incoming calamities and make us ready for it, considering the current state which is climate change. We really need technologies that could help us track typhoons and storms. I hope in the future we will be able to come up with devices that could all kinds of calamites like tsunamis and earthquakes because the people, especially those who live in calamity prone areas, can greatly benefit from these kinds of devices.

Automated Election

Many people fear the idea of automated elections. Just a day ago, I heard news related to this issue which was, the country could face great trouble if the first automated election would go awry. They say if the if the automation goes awry the country would not have a new set of leaders and there will be failure of elections. The companies that are going to administer the automated elections are not new to automated elections because they have already done this before and thus, they have already tested and proven it effective. I understand that the people are afraid of this idea because it is NEW and they fear the possible negative effects. Is it really the people? Or just the people who are in position? I think we should consider the automation to be in the benefit of the people of the Philippines. I think the companies involved in this automation would not decide to push through automated election if they think it is not effective. I mean, they wouldn’t just make a machine that will count all the votes. They must have tested and run simulations with it. These companies are not dumb to be trekking into something that is not fathomable. Automation can greatly ease the work of the people in terms of voting and in terms of counting the votes. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier and quicker if the one who will be counting the votes is a machine? Plus it could lessen the possibility of cheating.

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

In her 9th State of the Nation Address (SONA), last July 27, 2009, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cited the status and improvements of the nation in terms of different fields. One of which is related to Information and Communications Technology. Some of the areas related to ICT that can be identified are the following:

1.) Telecommunications

In Telecommunications, the president addressed to Telecommunications Commission to resolve the problems concerning dropped calls and unreasonable cell phone load vanishings.

“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.” she said

A dropped call pertains to an irregularly disconnected call. A call attempted but dropped before six seconds after the called party answers should not be considered a call. A dropped call was caused by network congestion and system failure.

It is better to work out with the aforementioned problems because consumers have the right to accept the right services from their producers. Even if we say, it has just a little impact for whatever the telecommunications companies do regarding the load services, whether continuing to have the unreasonable load balances or pricing the load at high cost, people would still continue to allow it because of no other choices. In our world today, we can’t deny the fact that information communication has become a necessity except for those that is still having a simple life (others may call it as in far in civilization.) The point is consumers should have the services they really deserved.

On Thursday, the NTC issued stricter rules on the drop-call rate of the telecommunication companies, or telcos, in a bid to protect consumers. In a Memorandum Order 03-06-2009, the regulator said the drop-call rate for telcos should be improved to 2 percent, or two dropped calls for every 100 calls, from 5 percent. The agency would also issue separate guidelines for the expiration of the load and pulse billing. The commission is also proposing a call rate of three seconds per pulse, from one minute charging, whether postpaid or prepaid. Currently, telcos charge on per minute basis, costing P6.50 per call (Amojelar, Darwin , The Manila Times)

2.) Latest Technology for Natural Calamities

As a country belonging in the Pacific Rim of Fire and is a path of possible typhoons, PGMA also cited the latest technology and its benefits for the preparation and proper action with regards to the upcoming typhoon.

“Latest technology enables to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not…” she said.

Provincial and municipal governments across the country are being urged to take the initiative and use their powers to forcibly evacuate residents during a natural disaster, Glenn Rabonza, chief of Manila’s Office of Civil Defence (OCD) told IRIN.

"We are a hazard- and disaster-prone country simply and unfortunately because of our geographical location. We get about 20 or so typhoons a year, about seven of them potentially destructive," Rabonza said.

Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with weather trading facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga.

The government also hopes to complete an updated "mapping of flood and landslide prone areas".

Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with at least 10 new radars installed in the typhoon-entry zones in the eastern Bicol region to alert the populace.

The government is also trying to emphasize "disaster mitigation and pre-emptive evacuation", mainly because many poor residents often ignore government warnings to leave disaster-prone areas, including riversides, slopes, hills and illegal mining operations, said Rabonza.

Some of the Projects and Programs for Natural Disaster Mitigation includes:

• Installation, Repair and Maintenance of Telemetering Multiplex System for Flood Forecasting and Warning Covering Pampanga, Agno, Bicol, Cagayan (PABC) River BasinsThis pertains to the provision of regular preventive and corrective maintenance of the PABC river basins telemetry/multiplex telecommunication network consisting of various electronic equipment, gauging instrument, supporting electro-mechanical equipment including maintenance of physical facilities for effective transmission of real-time rainfall and water level data for flood forecasting.

• Typhoon Warning and Weather Services, including the Operation of Meteorological Communication and Regional

• Forecast Centers and the Provision of Numerical Weather Prediction Techniques and AnalysisThis is concerned with the continuous 24-hour real-time monitoring of the changing events in the atmosphere for the purpose of issuing weather forecasts and warnings on typhoons and other severe weather phenomena. This involves the reception of regular 3- hourly synoptic observational data from within and outside the country, including weather satellite and radar observations; plotting and analysis of the 6-hourly surface weather charts and the 12-hourly upper air charts at five different levels; prognostication of the synoptic situation and processing of data for objective forecast techniques using super computers and videographic display systems; and finally, the dissemination of warnings and weather forecasts to PAGASA field stations, shipping and airline companies and the general public through the tri-media and other electronic means.

• Flood Forecasting and Warning and Hydrometeorological ServiceThe activity is concerned with the continuous monitoring and assessment of the watershed conditions of the Pampanga, Agno, Bicol and Cagayan river basins as well as the Pasig-Marikina-Laguna Lake Complex through the operation of the telemeterized rainfall and water-level gauging stations, for the issuance and dissemination of appropriate flood advisories and warning/bulletins to forewarn the affected areas and population. This also includes the conduct of hydrometeorological investigations and related studies for water resource management and flood forecasting and damage/disaster mitigation.

• Operation and Maintenance of Flood Forecasting and Warning System for Dam Operation Project I Covering Pantabangan and Angat DamsThis involves the continuous monitoring and assessment of the meteorological and hydrological condition of the Angat & Pantabangan dams reservoirs for the issuance of flood bulletins/warning information.

• Upgrading of the Flood Forecasting and Warning System in Pampanga and Agno River Basins (JICA Grant)This project will upgrade the flood forecasting and warning system in Pampanga and Agno river basins and major reservoirs/dams in Luzon to be able to deliver appropriate, accurate and timely flood advisories and warnings that will enable the policy makers and the threatened communities to plan and to act accordingly. The major impact of this project will be the reduction of human casualties and damage to properties through the provision of flood warnings which will include the visual extent of inundation or height of flooding.

• Establishment of Early Warning and Monitoring System for Agriculture and Water Resources (KOICA Grant)The proposed project aims to improve agricultural productivity of rice, corn and coconut through the establishment of a Community-Based Climate Information and Early Warning and Monitoring System (CBCLIMS). The project will be implemented in agricultural areas within river basins that are prone to extreme climate events. Since a agricultural areas suffer from floods and droughts, the early warning and monitoring system will both address mitigation measures from these extreme climate events. Once considered and supported by the Korean government, the project will showcase the importance of using climate information in mitigating hydro-meteorological disasters resulting to increase agricultural production.(http://www.dost.gov.ph/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=141)

As voting is concerned, the highest exercise of democracy and the advent of fundamental political reform, Automated Elections is financed and supported.

“As the process of fundamental political reform begins, let us address the highest exercise of democracy...voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.... “she cited.

When the country will go with Direct Recording Equipment (DRE);

The DRE system requires the installation of a computer or specialized equipment with a touch screen, mouse or keyboard that the voter uses to input his or her choices. After the voter completes the voting process the choices are printed out for audit purposes. It is estimated that 2 to 4 DRE units will be needed per precinct.

At the close of voting, a button is pressed and an Election Return (ER) is printed in each precinct. Results are transmitted electronically to the City/Municipal Board of Canvassers (CMBOC) and National Board of Canvassers (NBOC). As required by law, the NBOC transmits data to the various interested parties. All data at the CMBOC are transmitted to the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) and to the NBOC.

Advantages: • There is an on the spot tally of votes at the precinct level• Canvassing at the city/municipal and provincial levels is almost instantaneous• The DRE can include an automated voter validation system• If all precincts are connected, national results can be produced within one hour after the close of voting• There is less work for the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI)• There will be no ballot box stealing as the ERs are conveyed electronically for canvassingDisadvantages: • The cost is too expensive, estimates have it at around P17 billion• Logistics can be a terrifying if you consider that about 750,000 units will be deployed to 250,000 locations (precincts)• Thousands of technical personnel will be required to install and support• Costs and logistics of BEI training could be stunning• 40 million voters need to be trained on the use of the DRE• There is a high probability that voters will doubt vote-counting that they do not see• Some DRE models have no printing options

Another one is the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR);

With the OMR option, voters mark pre-printed ballots which are then put into ballot boxes. The ballot boxes are then transported to the city/municipal tabulation center. The ballots are fed to the OMR, the votes scanned and tallied. ERs are then printed and signed by the BEI. The CMBOC tabulates the ERs and prints out the Statement of Votes (SOV) and the Certificates of Canvass (COC). The ERs, SOV and COC are sent to the PBOC and NBOC, which transmits the data to the various interested parties. The PBOC canvasses the COCs and produces the provincial COC and SOV. The PBOCs transmit all data to the NBOC.

Advantages:

* Ballots are pre-printed and voters simply mark choices * Voter training is minimal * There is automated tally of votes at the city/municipal level * There is less work for the BEI at the precinct level * Cost is not prohibitive – about P1.3 billion for the equipment (if we are to accept the contract amount of the winning bidder in 2003)

Disadvantages:

* Tallying is done at the city/municipal level. Ballot boxes leave precincts without voters knowing results at the precinct level * Ballot box switching is possible * Tallying is internal and voters will not be able to trace to the source * There may be cases where more entries are marked in a ballot than are allowed. It will be difficult to fairly resolve issues arising from this situation. * On the other hand, there may also be cases when there are less markings on the ballot. It is very easy to add markings in such cases. * To achieve high quality readability, it is currently required that the ballot paper be of thicker substance and should not be folded. This means new ballot boxes will need to be designed and produced, adding to the cost.

4.) Department of ICT

It is expected to boost the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, one of the cited engines of the growth of the country.

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. BPO that is contracted outside a company's country is called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is contracted to a company's neighboring (or nearby) country is called nearshore outsourcing. Given the proximity of BPO to the information technology industry, it is also categorized as an information technology enabled service or ITES. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_outsourcing)

“With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have the Department of ICT,” said the president in her SONA 2009.

Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications, has noted the importance of the creation of DICT since many nations are slowly vying for a piece of global outsourcing and off shoring market which means a lot of competition, the DICT enables competitiveness.

“We really need a department that will handle the off shoring sector as well as other legislation such as cyber crime bill and the data privacy bill.”

After the abolition of ITECC, the council resulting from the merged National Information Technology Council and the Electronic Commerce Promotion Council, the CICT was created under Executive Order 269.

The CICT was formed to handle ICT policy while waiting for Congress to create DICT. DICT is expected to do more effective coordination and implementation of the national ICT programs.

Under the proposed bill, DICT will assume the communications-related powers and functions of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and will absorb the following agencies: Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) currently under the Office of the President, the National Computer Center (NCC) under the DOTC, the Telecommunications Office of the DOTC, and the Communications Planning Service division of the DOTC.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology favored for the creation of the said department.

"For instance, the Digital Village project which will enable rural farmers to use the Internet to access information on prices of goods, land records, weather forecasts, local government database and other agricultural knowledge support - thereby boosting their agriculture productivity - has been dragging on for years. This is largely due to the lack of coordination among agencies with ICT functions," he said

"ICT is one of the frontier fields that will dominate the world - how we work, study and conduct business," he said. "It would be to our great disadvantage if we were left out in the field of ICT.""Over the last two decades, China and India have used ICT to drive their economy and lift millions of their people out of pervasive poverty," Angara added.

FOR FULL TEXT OF PGMA’S SONA 2009:http://jlp-law.com/blog/state-of-the-nation-address-sona-2009/

Investment. The investment climate created by the Arroyo Administration’s fiscal consolidation and establishment of strong macroeconomic fundamentals continued to support investment inflows in the country.

In 2001, the institution of the Investments Relations Office (IRO) under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) developed and improved a coordinated approach to the dissemination of timely and comprehensive economic information for the use of analysts and investors in making investment recommendations and decisions.

Additionally, the Administration’s policy to simplify investment registration procedures, such as the establishment of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Centers (NERBACs), helped improve investment transactions in the country. From 2007 to May 2009, fifteen (15) NERBACs were established nationwide to facilitate investment promotion in the regions and assist Investment Promotion Units (IPUs). It also enhanced the system of linkages and networking between and among government agencies in tackling investment-related issues and concerns affecting foreign and local investors in the Philippines, among others. As a crucial component to improve industry competitiveness and reduce cost of doing business, investors’ concerns on modernizing infrastructure facilities in the country were addressed by prioritizing projects in the construction and rehabilitation of toll roads (e.g. Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road Project), expressways, among others.

• Investments approved by the Board of Investments-Philippine-Export Zone Authority (BOI-PEZA) grew almost three-fold from PhP182.84 billion in 2001 PhP443.15 billion in 2008. Some of the top investors from 2001 to 2008 include GN Power Ltd. Co., Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., Globe Telecom, Emerald Energy Corporation, PNOC Petrochemical Development, JG Summit, Smart Communications Inc., Global Business Power Corp., Cebu Air, and Texas Instruments Philippines. The Manufacturing Sector remained to be the leading source of employment opportunities.

• The telecommunications industry gained momentum in 2001 when telecom giants such as Globe Telecom, Smart Communications and Digitel Communications poured in their investments which ventured towards Short Message Service (SMS) or commonly known as text messaging.

• In 2007, Texas Instruments (TI), considered as the world’s biggest mobile chip maker, invested US$1 billion worth of expansion project in the country. Described as one of the single biggest investments in the Philippine’s economic history, this gave signal that the country had found its niche as one of the best investment destinations in Asia.

• The continued expansion of the services sector is largely due to the rising investments in the call/contact centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) particularly in the areas of Software Development, Animation, Medical Transcription, and outsourcing services in Human Resources, Customer Service and Procurement, among others.

• From four (4) call centers operations with 2,400 employees in 2000, the industry remarkably grew in 2008 to 191 call centers in major areas in the country, generating 227,000 in local employment. Top contact centers in the country include Sykes, Convergys, Ambergis, and People Support. Moreover, companies that have set-up internal BPO operations in the country include HSBC, AIG Business Processing Services, Chevron Texaco, Procter and Gamble Asia Pt. Ltd., Shell Services, among others.

• Being significant drivers to growth and employment, the BPO and information technology-enabled services (ITES) sectors were prioritized in the government’s Investment Priorities Plan (IPP). Under the IPP, investors enjoy fiscal incentives such as income-tax holidays, exemption from taxes and duties on spare parts, among others.

The government also provided non-fiscal incentives to ICT investors, which include employment of foreign nationals in supervisory, technical, or advisory positions; simplified customs procedures; and, duty-free importation of consigned equipment.

Reaction:Through an investment strategy of the government, strengthening and sustaining our global competitiveness is among the priorities of the Arroyo Administration to open more economic opportunities and create more jobs for the benefit of the Filipino People. With this more investors had invested in our country which the country was able to cope with effects of the global crisis.Many had invested that helps improve the quality of Filipinos lives. We had foreign direct Investment, foreign portfolio Investment, and investments approved by the Board of Investments-Philippine-Export Zone Authority (BOI-PEZA). Investments approved BOI-PEZA, many of the top investors came from the Telecommunication companies with were the source of employment opportunities.

Also, the worlds’ biggest mobile chip maker invested of billion of expansion project in the country which describe as one of the single biggest investment in the Philippine’s economic history. This gave our country a signal that we can be the best investment destination in Asia.

And because of the rising investment in call/contract centers and business process outsourcing, the industry of call centers operations grew remarkably from four number of call centers in 2000 it made 191 in 2008 which gave more opportunities and employment to more Filipinos.

The Administration also improved the country’s competitive advantage in information and communications technology (ICT), which resulted to the robust economic activities in the ICT industry with gross revenue of US$17.934 Billion and total employment for 371,965 individuals from 2004 to 2008. Notably, it was during the Arroyo Administration that this significant growth in the ICT industry was realized. (Annexes D and E)

Centers of information technology and business processing outsourcing (IT-BPO) services all around the country have been connected. Aside from Metro Manila and Metro Cebu which have already been considered as “ICT Centers of Excellence”, the Administration has been promoting the top 10 “Next Wave Cities” to be the destinations of ICT industry outside Metro Manila and Metro Cebu:

• Removed barriers and allow full competition in the provision of high-speed networks and connectivity. • Allocated radio frequencies to allow broadband wireless access network. • Liberalized the telecommunications environment/ industry to allow the entry of more players, ie, the telecommunication operators (TelCos). • Authorized the retail-pricing for local telephone lines by allowing local exchange carriers to design price packages.

Reaction:

The administration had improved the information and communication technology, it increases the gross revenue and employment to our country. Many policies were implemented that gave advantages to us. One of this was the reduction of cost of local internet connection. If you could remember way back on 2000 you had to pay 30 php per hour in internet café which reduce to hour rate ranges to 5 – 15 php in 2008. It really gives us advantage most especially to us student, because we browse and search in internet most of our assignment, paper works, and researches and many more.

We can say communication services are really improved nowadays. Majority of the Filipinos are now mobile telephone subscribers who are connected to 14,506 cell sites nationwide. We have also 11 international gateway facilities operators who can provide international long distance calls for us to be able to contact our family and love ones outside the country.

Cyber Corridor

The Cyber Corridor, which aims to create an information and technology-based knowledge economy through facilities that enhance interconnectivity and research and development initiatives, traverses all four geographic super regions from Baguio to Cebu to Davao. The Cyber Corridor is being developed through public and private investments in the areas of ICT, education, and training. The pilot-testing of a major ICT project, the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Revenue Watch Dashboard prototype system, was completed in May 2009. This web-enabled revenue monitoring tool aims to provide real time collection figures from the national level down to the Revenue District Office level.

Aside from the priority infrastructure projects in the Cyber Corridor, the Government also pursued other Information and Communication Technology-related projects that supported the development theme of the Cyber Corridor. The Government has established public calling stations, telecenters and community e-centers to address the uneven distribution of fixed telephone lines in the regions. By 2008, the Administration has installed facilities to areas without communication channels yet, such as 875 telegraph stations for telegraphic transfer and social telegram; digital telephone exchanges in 103 localities; 538 public calling stations which serves people who cannot afford to subscribe telephone services and areas not covered by fixed line facilities; 1,422 Telepono sa Barangay (TSB) stations; and a Regional Government Telephone Service in Cauayan, Isabela.

Reaction:

Cyber Corridor is one of the Administration’s priority projects in which under the super regional development strategy of the Administration. This aimed at linking up the nation’s countryside with its growth centers through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the knowledge economy.

The Administration has been harnessing information and communications technology through the Cyber Corridor to promote e-governance to simplify and expedite transaction of frontline services.

Last July 27, 2009 during the 2ndRegular Session of the 14th Congress, one lady declared her SONA (State of the Nation Address) that is something she had to stand for till the end. She is our incumbent president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Getting a country up and running requires years and money resources, including large sums of more from the international community. The basic structure of a country is the same: political, economic, taxation and judicial systems, infrastructure, cultural, educational and medical institutions, and more are one of the issues our president stated. Because these are interconnected, fitting them together into unified, organic whole is a complex undertaking.

She stated in her SONA some of her achievements this year. The vision of putting people first in her priorities is one key points.

In relation with ICT, she mentioned some areas about it.. These are the following:

Telecommunications

The president addressed to Telecommunications Commission to take charge of the problems concerning dropped calls and unreasonable cell phone load vanishings. That concern must b properly solved since we the consumers are the ones affected about it. Telecommunication companies must be responsible enough about the issue. They wont come up to what they are now if we the consumers didn't patronize their services.

Developing the BPO

BPO is a form ofoutsourcing that involves the contracting the operations and responsibilities of a business functions. The president stated that electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy but BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. BPO's advantage is that it helps any company increase their flexibility in terms of their fields. Since the company is flexible enough,then it only means that they will able to focus on their core competencies which in the end be a great help in the progress of the company and the country as well.

Automated Elections

2010 national elections is fast approaching. There are certain advantages arises on this automation. It provides efficient way for voting with less hassle. Of course its beneficial on our part as voters since we can vote easily. The use of the technology on the said automation was indeed a good one. We make use of the technology properly at the same time it can produce good output to us as well as our country.

Every year, the State of the Nation Address or “SONA” is given by the President before a joint session of both houses of Congress, pursuant to Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution, which reads: “The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session.” And this year, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s 2009 State of the Nation Address was delivered on July 27, 2009.

Likewise, on the assumption that I have heard and read on the SONA, the 3 areas related to ICT are as follows:

The Philippines' National Telecommunications Commission (Filipino: Pambansang Komisyon sa Telekomunikasyon), abbreviated as NTC, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Transportation and Communications responsible for supervising, adjudicating and controlling over all telecommunications services throughout the Philippines. It is a regulatory agency providing an environment that ensures reliable, affordable and viable infrastructure and services in information and communications technology (ICT) accessible to all.

In addition, as what I have research, the NTC now had issued already a circular regarding on the ‘dropped calls’. They issued stricter rules on the drop-call rate of the telecommunication companies, or telcos, in a bid to protect consumers. The regulator’s move comes after complaints by the Senate leadership about vanishing mobile-phone loads or credits.

*In a Memorandum Order 03-06-2009, the regulator said the drop-call rate for telcos should be improved to 2 percent, or two dropped calls for every 100 calls, from 5 percent.

A dropped call pertains to an irregularly disconnected call. A call attempted but dropped before six seconds after the called party answers should not be considered a call. The agency noted that blocked and dropped calls were caused by network congestion and system failure.

On the other hand, regarding on spam messages, to resolve complaints on spam, the commission also issued a draft circular amending the rules on the broadcasting messaging service. Spam are unsolicited and unwanted messages, which can be commercial offerings, promotions, advertisements and surveys.

*The new circular said that push messages should not be allowed, adding that “subscriptions or requests for contents and/or information shall be initiated by the subscribers.” That the commercial and promotional advertisements, surveys and other broadcast messages should be allowed only if prior consent from the subscribers was secured by the telco. It added that the mobile network operators should keep records of all requests for contents and information from subscribers for the delivery of the message for at least two months.

Records related to complaints filed by consumers should not be disposed until such complaints were finally resolved. Records of complaints should also be forwarded to the commission upon request.

Moreover, the agency also issued separate guidelines for the expiration of the load and pulse billing.

*Now, a P10 load is valid for only a day; for a P30 load, three days; for a P200 load, 30 days; and a P300 load, 60 days. The commission is also proposing a call rate of three seconds per pulse, from one minute charging, whether postpaid or prepaid. The call rate to a per-second basis of actual use would assure that there would be no charges on calls that are dropped because of poor quality service, network congestion and other causes that terminate calls within the first second of the call, the commission said.

Currently, telcos charge on per minute basis, costing P6.50 per call.

“For me, it is really important to resolve such an issues like that regarding on telecommunications because it is really in demand and important right now in our daily life. If before, this things we just call it only as our wants but now, it is already our needs because this time it is really now difficult to communicate with the other without it. And if we have a kind of problems like dropped calls or lost cellphone loads, then how can we use it? It will just become a worthless thing.”

2.“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is delegation of one or more of your non-core activities to an external service provider, who in turn will be responsible for managing and administering the selected process based on pre-defined and measurable performance criteria. An important aspect of business process outsourcing is its ability to free corporate executives from some of their day-to-day process management responsibilities. Executives get more control over their most valuable time. Time to explore new revenue streams, time to accelerate other projects, and time to focus on their customers. Outsourcing helps in not only cutting costs but also improves the speed and quality of services.

However, Information and Communication Technologies are now a crucial part of modern life. Almost everyone is affected by them, directly or indirectly. Therefore, Pres. Gloria Arroyo spoke made a final push for the creation of DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) in her last State of the Nation Address (Sona) and as she highlighted the huge role that the BPO sector has played in the local economy.

As I have read, a proposed law calling for the creation of DICT has been pending in Congress for the last five years. This even if Malacanang has certified the bill as urgent.

Arroyo made the endorsement as she noted in her Sona that the Philippines is now starting to create wealth with the development of the BPO industry as an engine of growth. But the president’s call for the creation of DICT, however, was less urgent compared to the appeal she made to revise consumer laws as she underscored her directive to the National Telecommunications Commission to act on complaints against dropped calls and lost cellphone load.

“For me, we as an IT are the one would be happier with that creation of Dept. of ICT because we are the no.1 involve on that field. And also by aspiring to have that Department, it will transform our country into a knowledge society and make available the benefits of Information Technology to all citizens, especially those in rural areas and living in poverty. And with DICT, it will probably achieve as what they call INFO-AGE (Inclusive, Networked, Fast, Open, Accountable, Globally benchmarked and Efficient) government.”

3.“As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

On my research, the Philippines' election process has remained the same over the years. The manual voting, casting and counting has always been palatable for those with vested interest to control and manipulate the elections. With the advent of messy and fraud full elections it makes modernization even more imperative.RA 8436 as amended by RA 9369 authorizes COMELEC to use an automated election system in the conduct of national and local election. Angara who filed a bill which seeks to authorize an eleven billion pesos (P11-B) supplemental appropriation for the use of an Automated Election System emphasized the need to finally automate our elections.

"The heart of a true democracy lies in achieving clean and honest elections which provide mandate and authority to elected public officials. Our laws mandate the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to use an automated election system in the conduct of national and local elections to encourage transparency, credibility, fairness and accuracy of elections," said Angara who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.

Of the total amount of P11,301,790,000 (Eleven billion three hundred one million seven hundred ninety thousand pesos) P9,959,710,000 will go to the acquisition of machines for the 2010 automated national and local elections. Moreover, P1,342,080,000 will be allocated for the preparatory activities in relation to the conduct of 2010 automated elections.

“For me, I’m so happy that they have already financed fully the automated elections because it does mean that we really have it and that the elections will be continued next year. Actually, honestly, I’m so excited for it because I want to experience it especially if we, the IT students have also given the chance to work with it on the election time. hehe”

Its such a good thing having astate of the nation address(SONA) of the president since it shows topeople the achievements brought by the leadership of thepresident.Last July 27,2009 she made her SONA .Here, she have tackledthe complement of her leadership such a financial assessment,infrastructure, ,agriculture ,housing ,down drug price and etc..Shehad tackled about the ICT that Iam concerning with. As an IT studentI do concern of these things cause i know it can help a lot to makeour country be more successful soon.

“ Let us have a Department of ICT”

-It a complement to ourpresident that ICT department is now being part of our government inenhancing services for the Pilipino People. As she have saidthat“Our reformsgave us the resources to protect our people, our financial system andour economy from the worst of shocks that the best in the West failedto anticipate.”-Itsuch a good thing that the best of the west failed to anticipatemeans that even the riches country in this world failed to realizethat our country are are reforming and adopting IT/IS changes .Provesthat despite of the financial crisis felt by the world now ,wePilipino are striving hard to attain the good services of newtechnology.-Having an ICT department in our government has a bigimpact to every Pilipino people first is job opportunity, lessen acorruption since budget is manage, reliable produced system to usedby each department. Proud to say Pinoy’s are intelligent in nature.

“Kungnoong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealthby developing the BPO and tourism sectors asadditional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufacturedexports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the worldeconomy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion andemployment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of ourcompetitiveness and productivity”

These proved that our country isnow enduring the best business outsourcing that would help in for the big income for the whole country .Ithelp to every Pilipino people tohave jobs and it stated that we are going higher as time gone by ..“BPO phenomenon speakseloquently of our competitiveness and productivity”Soonit would help to prove to the other country that we are best inbusiness processoutsourcing .

“Asthe seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us addressthe highest exercise of democracy – voting! In 2001, I said wewould finance fully-automated elections. We got it, thanks toCongress.”

-these is a proved that our country is now enduring the new and hightechnology. Next year election we will endure automated election.These would help to lessen the unreliable result of last election Itsan easy way for the voters to vote and it help every Pilipino peopleto have knowledge with these things. It has also a big impact to ourcountry.

All of these here in my post is based on what I have read. I haven’t seen the telecast of the last State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, I just read the transcript.

For me, I think that little has been talked about by President Arroyo with the ICT industry in her SONA, but although little, it has to be talked about, since it concerns me, for I am an IT student, and ICT issues will affect me in time.

The first ICT related topic in the SONA for me was the one regarding the National Telecommunications Commission about the dropped calls and the loads of cellphones being “stolen”. I don’t know about the dropped calls, but I do know about the lost loads. I know many people who always complain “Gikawatan na pud kog load…(My load was stolen again…)”. I wouldn’t say what telecommunications company, because we don’t know who will be reading this post. If the NTC were to address this problem and solve it, then that’s a good one for us ordinary citizens. Even though small, this can improve our quality of life, because texting has been almost a need for us Filipinos. We use it to communicate; in schools, business, and fun. Almost all Filipinos have a cellphone now, even some in squatters, and load is very essential. If load would be lost with us not knowing why that would add up to our poor state in life. We don’t have even money, we don’t even have load. And if we had load, it would some kinda be stolen from us. So if this problem was taken care of, then that would lessen our problems, even if in a small scale.

Next would be the plan of putting up an ICT department. If there were a Department in the government dedicated only to the ICT industry, then all problems regarding within the field would be more focused on, and problems would be much faster resolved. And if the ICT industry needed help, then they there would be a department of the government that could focus its help on it. Workers in the ICT field will be glad about this.

And lastly, its about the funds for more computers in schools. This topic was from the issue in tax revenues, that the tax from alcohol and cigarettes must go to the funds for education. And with these funds, the percentage of purchasing more computers for schools will increase. And if there will be more computers in schools, then more and more students, even in rural areas, will be computer-literate and more students will be probable candidates for ICT related professions. And that means more qualified people for the ICS industry. And if they get those jobs, then more food on the table.

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

Sona of the president 2009- talking about ICT related

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

As to talk, I think the technology was really a dependent on the economy. We experience a financial crisis but glad to say the technology give a good contribution grow the economy.Well done..

This issue was cellular phone loads that were lost even it is not use by the owner. I heard this issue that one of our senator in the Phil. experience this. I don't have any idea if it is the administrators of these company really are the one behind this or their employees who are just responsible for this that they are just hacking the loads of this to make money. BAD!..what a crime!

[i]“As a country in the path of typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be prepared as the latest technology permits to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible…the mapping of flood- and landslide-prone areas is almost complete. Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with weather tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga.”[/i] The third was the weather systemt in our country that was improve, she said. Glad to here that the product of the ICT contribute to help to the safety of the people! Wow! We should be proud! Contributing a big safety warning to our country can really give a perseverance to continue to improve this. Thanks a lot for the support! :arrow:Also here are some of the ares in ICT that i think should be improved..

ICT Areas

Camtic has classified the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in 4 main categories. Moreover, Camtic has incorporated providers of key services to the association. Even though this last category does not directly belong to the ICT habitat, its existence and vinculation makes it a principal enabler for a healthy evolution of the sector. Following is a list of the Chambers member sectors with a brief description of each and some examples as well: :arrow:ICT Producers:

Development and design of standardized software products (software packages) that can be sold more than once. For example:

* Retail software * Specialized applications * Embedded software

:arrow:ICT Direct Services

Software development not considered in the category above; ICT installation, integration, support and consulting; and network and telecommunication integration and management. For example:

Companies who is core business are services enabled by ICT tools wich are used as a fundamental base for their development, even if they do not necessarily produce ICT services or products such as business process outsourcing, business transformation outsourcing, customer service or data entry. For example:

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

Every year, the President of the Republic of the Philippines gives Congress and the people an update about the national situation through the SONA or the State of the Nation Address. This SONA has been practiced by all the Philippine presidents since 1936. State of the Nation Address was originally mandated by Article VII, Section 5 of the 1935 Philippine Constitution, which states: “The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” This provision was copied from the United States Constitution, the Philippines being under American rule at the time. The US provision, however, talked of the state of the union. SONA continues to this day. The 1987 Philippine Constitution requires the President to address the Congress at the opening of its regular session on the fourth Monday of July (Article VII, Section 23 and Article VI, Section 15), which is July 27 for this year, 2009.Pres. Gloria Arroyo on July 27made a final push for the creation of DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) in her last State of the Nation Address (Sona). Speaking before members of both chambers of Congress, the chief executive urged the country to “have a Department of ICT” as she highlighted the huge role that the BPO sector has played in the local economy.A proposed law calling for the creation of DICT has been pending in Congress for the last five years. This even if Malacanang has certified the bill as urgent.Arroyo made the endorsement as she noted in her Sona that the Philippines is now starting to create wealth with the development of the BPO industry as an engine of growth.“Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity,” she said.The president’s call for the creation of DICT, however, was less urgent compared to the appeal she made to revise consumer laws as she underscored her directive to the National Telecommunications Commission to act on complaints against dropped calls and lost cellphone load.“We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now,” Arroyo declared.In an earlier interview, CICT (Commission of Information and Communications Technology) chair Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua said there’s time left and that the government is still hoping that Congress would pass the DICT bill.“Unlike a full-fledged department, the problem with CICT just being a commission is that it can be easily demolished by the next administration. All that is needed by the next president is to sign another EO. That would be the end of the programs we’ve put up over the years,” he said.These are the articles I found relate to the topic.http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/213088/gma-sona-bats-dept-ictThe three areas related to ICT that can improve our quality of life are BPO or Business Process Outsourcing industry as an engine of growth and innovations for us IT professionals. Through outsourcing we can broaden are knowledge and we can follow the trends of our technology. Through this, it is easy for us to engage to different profitable activities that could help to the improvement of our lives. Additional engines of growth-when we say additional engines fir growth, this would help every individual to improve they way of leaving. For example additional recruitment or hiring for any job. Philippine Transport Security Authority Law- I think it would be good to have this kind of law so that we can secure to our selves the existence of martial law and to have a fair treatment to all kinds of people. In this way we can improve our way of leaving, were there is fair and non abusive treatment to humans.

wanna visit my blog??

http://shecapacillo.blogspot.

Last edited by Sheila Capacillo on Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:03 am; edited 2 times in total

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of thePresident last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT andidentify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

1.) Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today, weare creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additionalengines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall inaccordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. Withearnings of six billion dollars and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenonspeaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have aDepartment of ICT.

Business process outsourcing (BPO)is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations andresponsibilities of a specific business functions (or processes) to athird-party service provider, it is a distinct frominformation technology (IT) outsourcing, which focuses on hiring a third-partycompany or service provider to do IT-related activities, such as applicationmanagement and application development, data center operations, or testing andquality assurance.These outsourcing deals frequently involve multi-yearcontracts that can run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

. Outsourcingcan supply an unbending with improved flexibility in its source management andmight reduce times to main environmental changes. Anadditional way in which BPO contributes to a company’s flexibility is that acompany is to be able to meet on its foundation without being loaded by thedemands of practical chains.

One of the prime key returns of BPO is the line of attackin which it helps to boost a company’s flexibility. Still, several sources havedifferent ways in which identify managerial flexibility. As a result, businessprocess outsourcing enhances the flexibility of an organization in differentways.

Thisissue is common to us because everyone is using cell phones and other gadgets.Nowadays, cell phone is a major means of communication. But, the problem is theconcern of loss of cell phone loads. As we observe, Telecommunication companiesdo have great agreement of promos, they have unlimited text and calls but then troublesoccur when loads unexpectedly loss and end in advance. And it is a goodinitiative of our President now that she planned this kind of proposal becauseit really helps us in communicating other people in far places.

Education is very important to us. It is the process bywhich society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and valuesfrom one generation to another through institutions. The government should dosome action about this because in supporting this, it can help our country toproduce more professionals and to avoid jobless or out-of-schol youth in thefuture.